


It's Mutual

by thatwriterlady



Series: 25 Days of the Holiday Season [22]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adorable, Attraction, Bold Dean Winchester, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, Christmas Fluff, Dean Winchester Has a Crush on Castiel, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, Shy Castiel (Supernatural), Sweet, gift wrapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: Dean is desperate to come up with a reason to get his sexy neighbor to come over, but the man is painfully shy and lacks confidence in his ability for stimulating conversation. Dean begs to differ. He comes up with what he thinks is the perfect excuse: he'll feign being crappy at wrapping presents and needs his help.Cas' interest in Dean has existed since the moment he first laid eyes on the man so when Dean asks for his help, he doesn't hesitate to say yes.It's a cuteness overload as feelings are shared. Christmas fluff and first kisses make everything perfect.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: 25 Days of the Holiday Season [22]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037259
Comments: 7
Kudos: 93





	It's Mutual

**Dec 22nd:**

**_It's Mutual~_ **

Cas was sitting back, enjoying a cup of tea when his phone buzzed with a text. Not many people has his number, and aside from his brother or sisters, no one really texted him. Figuring it might be one of them, he picked his phone up to see who it was. His stomach did a flip when he saw it was actually from Dean Winchester, his gorgeous, _bisexual_ and SINGLE next door neighbor. He’d had many a fantasy about the man, more than he would ever admit to. The text brought a smile to his face, and it gave him ideas of how to see if the man was interested in him too.

**Dean:** Help! I can’t wrap gifts to save my life! I’ve already ripped up an entire roll just trying to wrap the simple boxes, but I got my niece some stuffed animals in weirdly shaped packaging and I have no idea how to wrap them. Could you come by and help me?

His heart fluttered and he smiled wide as he typed back

_Sure, I’ll be over in a few minutes. Don’t touch anything!_

He looked down at his faded, stained tee shirt and equally sad looking sweatpants. No way was he going over there dressed like this! A change of close was in order, asap~

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Dean checked his hair in the mirror and made sure to put on fresh deodorant. He’d finally thought of an excuse to get his hot, _gay_ , SINGLE neighbor to come over. It was pretty ingenious, really. He’d just pretended he didn’t know how to wrap presents. Never mind that he used to have a holiday job every year wrapping presents at the mall as a teenager. Cas didn’t need to know that.

Deciding a chance of clothes was in order, he shucked the baggy track pants and the Zeppelin shirt with the tear in the armpit, deciding on a more form fitting tee shirt, one _without_ holes, and a pair of jeans that hugged his ass. There was nothing he could do about his bowed legs, but that didn’t matter. He was just hoping to make the other man drool when he saw him. He was almost positive Cas was attracted to him, but the man was shy and rather introverted. He’d declined invitations to come over, but he figured it had more to do with him being so shy than it did with him not wanting to spend time in his apartment. The few times he’d asked had Cas looking at him almost in terror. He knew one of the man’s worst fears was awkward conversation, and having people dislike him for it. Thing was, he _always_ had stuff to talk about with Cas, and despite the man’s fears, their conversations were always easy and very enjoyable. Cas just wasn’t confident in his abilities to hold a conversation, especially with someone he was romantically interested in. Dean hoped today to prove to him that he was an excellent conversationalist. And maybe he’d finally work up the nerve to ask him out.

He was just deciding that splashing on cologne was probably suspicious when he heard the knock at the door. He forced himself to keep his cool as he left the bathroom and went to let Cas in. When he opened the door he found a very nervous Cas standing there, his blue eyes wide as they looked up at him.

“P-presents?” His voice cracked on the single word. Dean smiled and stepped aside to let him in.

“Yep. As you can see, I’ve made a huge mess.” He made a sweeping gesture towards the strategically torn and crumpled wrapping paper on the floor by the tree. Cas snickered as he came inside and walked over to the stack of items that needed to be wrapped.

“Dean, you’ve made quite a mess. Do you have enough paper still?”

“Yeah, I have four more rolls in my bedroom closet. I buy extra every year because of this. Whatever I manage not to ruin one year, is saved for the following, and I will _still_ buy more paper. Just in case.”

“Good idea,” Cas nodded as he knelt down on the floor. Dean shut the door but didn’t move from his spot. 

“I’ll get us a couple of beers, yeah? Sound good?”

“Sure,” Cas smiled up at him. He went into the kitchen and got the bottles, popping the tops before bringing them back to the living room. He definitely noticed the way Cas’ eyes seemed to roam hungrily over his body. Sweet! The jeans were working their magic. He hiked them up a bit so kneeling on the other side of the toy Cas had selected to wrap first would be a little more comfortable. As he passed the second beer to him he let his own eyes wander. The man was so incredibly gorgeous but those form fitting jeans and the tight tee shirt was doing things to him. So hot!

“So, is all your wrapping done?” He asked.

“Oh yes,” Cas nodded as he picked up the scissors. “I finished my shopping about two weeks ago, and I got everything wrapped. Gabe likes to come over and go snooping to see what I got him, so I have to be quick to wrap his first.”

Dean laughed and nodded. He’d met Cas’ older brother a few times and he’d acted very much like a kid every time. Hearing that he would go looking for his own gifts sounded very much like something the man would do. Thing was, his own brother did that too.

“So does Sam. Never mind he’s a married man with a child, he still will come over and then it’s “oops, I didn’t mean to be in your bedroom closet, Dean, I really wanted the bathroom”. Never mind the fact that he used to practically live here before he met his wife.” He said with a roll of his eyes.

Cas’ laughter was magical, and it gave Dean goosebumps to hear it. He’d met Dean’s brother and as serious as the man pretended to be, he was a complete goofball once he let people see that side of him.

“Yes I could see him doing that.” Cas said as he put the toy in the center of the square of paper and began shaping it so it hugged the box the right way without leaving any exposed gaps.

  
“Wow, you’re really good at that.” Dean commented as he grabbed a shirt box. He began wrapping it, almost forgetting that he was supposed to be pretending to be bad at it, so he cut a piece much too big for it. Cas looked at it and sighed.

“So, how’s work been?” He asked.

“It’s been good. It’s winter break now so the kids are out of my hair until the 5th of January. They can drive their parents nuts for the next two weeks!” Cas laughed. Dean smiled fondly at him. He’d found it so endearing, and perfectly suited to the shy man sitting across from him when he’d learned he was a first grade teacher. “What about you? You must be keeping very busy lately, what with all the snow that’s been falling. Tires must be a huge part of your winter sales.”

“They are,” Dean replied. “And chains. But there’s been a lot of antifreeze draining and adding the winterized kind.”

“Oh, I should do that,” Cas realized. “The temps are supposed to drop by Christmas.”

“It’ll still be in the twenties, you’ll be ok, but I’ll do that for you, no problem. I don’t want to be wrong and have you end up stranded somewhere.”

Cas smiled shyly at him as he set aside the first of the wrapped presents. Dean filled out a tag and stuck it to the gift before putting it under the tree. When he turned back around he found that Cas was fixing the wrapping paper on the box he’d been trying to wrap.

“Say, I ordered us some pizza,” He didn’t ask, he knew Cas would try to bow out gracefully, thinking himself a burden if he was asked. “I haven’t eaten yet, I was too busy wasting wrapping paper to remember to eat. I got us a supreme and a meat lovers. That cool with you?”

“You don’t have to feed me, Dean,” And there he was, trying to be polite and not be a nuisance. “But thank you for the offer.”

“You’re eating with me. I ordered two massive pizzas and I don’t want to eat alone. Plus you’re helping me. You may not realize this but I really like spending time with you,” Go big or go broke, right? He asked himself. It was about time Cas knew how he felt. 

“Cas, I’m freaking crazy about you. You’re so gorgeous and smart and sweet, and I want to have pizza with you. I want to watch movies and talk into the wee hours of the morning because every time we sit and talk, it’s wonderful. I _want_ you here, ok? Hell, I _know_ how to wrap gifts, I have stacks of them already wrapped in my closet. I was a gift wrapper at the mall all through high school. I know how to wrap pretty much anything within seconds. I just wanted an excuse to spend time with you since you always want to leave just when you’re starting to relax. Don’t you like me too?”

As he poured his heart out he watched the other’s man’s eyes lighting up. The smile that graced his lips was absolutely dazzling.

“I’m not...boring?”

“Hell no, you’re not boring!” Dean huffed. Had someone told him that? An ex? Family? They deserved a punch in the nose for saying it. “Who told you that? You’re anything but boring.”

“Oh,” Cas’ smile turned shy as he scooted around the box on the floor to get closer to him. “I like you very much, Dean. I was lounging around in my grungiest clothes until you texted. I…wanted to look nice. You’re amazing and I _do_ like you, so very much that I’m always scared I’ll say something stupid and you’ll decide I’m not worth it. But I would _love_ to go out with you. I’m not leaving to visit my family until the morning of the twenty-fourth, but I’m free tomorrow night.”

“And tonight, cause you’re having pizza with me. First date and all.” Dean said cheekily. Cas laughed and nodded.

“It sounds like the perfect first date. It’s cozier in here than going out in the cold anyway. I sort of feel bad for the delivery person though. We should tip them well, they deserve it.”

“You’re right, I have a ten in my wallet that I’ll give them.” Dean owned his own auto shop and it was very successful. If he had two tens he’d give them both. It was freaking cold outside.

“So you know how to wrap the gifts? Clever ruse,” Cas teased and bumped his shoulder against Dean’s. “I thought that the balled up paper and the other things looked kind of staged.”

“No you didn’t,” Dean laughed. Cas grinned and shook his head.

“No, I really didn’t. But I’m glad you got me to come over. I’ve wanted to tell you for ages now that I like you.”

Dean brought a hand up and gently brushed a piece of hair away from Cas’ eye. His hair grew so fast and he’d put off cutting it. Now it was almost long enough to drape over his eyes. It was still unruly and Dean loved that. Such a simple gesture made Cas smile even wider.

“You’re not the only one that changed. I was hoping you’d finally notice me, like _really_ notice me.” Dean confessed.

“Dean, I noticed you the day I moved in and saw you entering your apartment. You’re gorgeous. Having you strike up a conversation was scary, but you were so nice that I wanted to talk to you. I like talking to you.”

“Good,” Dean was running his teeth across his lower lip, debating on whether he should ask the question he was dying to know the answer to. “Hey, can...I kiss you? Just a kiss, not sex or anything. I’ve just sort of been dying to know how your lips would feel against mine.”

Cas’ look of surprise was quickly followed by a nose crinkling smile that showed off his gums and every tooth in his mouth. “You think about kissing me? Because I think about kissing you too.”

“God, I feel like a teenager right now,” Dean laughed. “I’m thirty-one but you make me feel so much younger again. In a good way. Not the stupid, hormone driven thoughts, but the giddy excitement that comes from having your crush reciprocate your affections.”

“I love it when you say things like that. You make me feel younger too. I didn’t have crushes like me back in school, so it’s wonderful knowing I can have that now. Of course you can kiss me.”

He didn’t wait for Dean to make the first move, he surprised the man by kissing him first. It was soft, though it lingered long enough for them both to smile into it.

“How about we finish wrapping these and then we’ll curl up and watch a movie while we eat pizza?” Dean hoped he’s want that too. Cas leaned in to kiss him again.

“That sounds absolutely wonderful.”


End file.
